The Light Through the Leaves(134)

During lunch, Rose asked, “Have you made any progress convincing Raven to go to a hospital for the birth?”

“She absolutely refuses,” Ellis said. “She wouldn’t agree to a midwife either. She said she and Jackie have studied how to deliver a baby on the internet.”

“Oh my god! Seriously?” Reece said.

“This worries me,” Rose said.

“I know. But what can I do? Drag her? Audrey made her phobic about hospitals.”

Keith said, “We’re hoping she’ll go into labor while Jonah and Ryan are here. Ryan is a doctor.”

“What kind?” Rose asked.

“A surgeon. He doesn’t normally deliver babies, but he knows how.”

Ellis said, “I told Jonah to warn Ryan that he might have a working vacation.”

Everyone laughed. Ellis laughed with them, though she dreaded her daughter’s labor. She never would trust fate. It always did what it wanted. Fate didn’t give a damn how good a person was, or how innocent a baby, before it swept them away.

Shortly after Raven and Jackie returned home, Jonah, Jasper, and Ryan arrived. Ryan was four years older than Jonah, but he had a youthful appearance that made him seem younger. He was tall and fit, had blond hair and blue eyes, and wore glasses with aqua frames. He hugged Ellis and kissed her cheek as if he’d known her all his life.

He whispered in her ear, “I brushed up on my delivery skills. I’m ready. But that will be our secret.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back. “She still says Jackie is going to deliver the baby.”

Ryan grinned. “Brave boy.”

They put two tables together in the living room for dinner. Keith turned down the lights to better see the Christmas tree. He also lit a fire, though it was still warm outside. For “ambience,” he said.

Ellis loved how full her house felt. With family, new friends, laughter, healing. She nearly cried during dinner more than once.

Dinner cleanup went fast with everyone’s help, even Quercus, who licked many plates clean. The group was in a lively mood. Everyone except River. Ellis recognized the fraught look in his eyes.

She took him by the hand and led him to the front porch. “You want a drink, don’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“To me it is.”

“I want one so bad I’m about dying. If I had a driver’s license, I’d probably be gone by now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You’ve been doing so well.”

“It’s all of this,” he said, gesturing at the lights on the holly tree. “I haven’t had a sober Christmas since I was maybe Raven’s age. Normally I go through the whole season in one long stupor. And now I’m finally twenty-one and I’m supposed to be sober? How ridiculous is that? Can’t I see what it’s like to order a drink legally, just for once?”

“You’re making up excuses.”

“I almost asked Reece or Huck to take me.”

“Raven would be devastated if you did that.”

“I know,” he said.

“Wait here.”

She went inside, grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator, and popped the cap. She brought it to River.

He stared at the brown bottle. “Is that a beer?”

“It’s a little recovery secret I learned from a guy in a campground.”

Caleb reading “Song of the Open Road” in her tent. She always thought of that night when she bought kombucha. Caleb had recommended it to help her stay sober. Back then, the drink wasn’t as easy to find in stores as it was now.

She put the bottle in River’s hand.

He looked at the label. “I’ve never tried kombucha.”

“The guy I met told me it helps when you’re craving a drink. It’s fermented and fizzy like a beer, and holding a cold brown bottle helps.”

River tried it. “Pretty good.”

“It has a little alcohol in it from the fermentation process. Not enough to get you even tipsy, though. I have quite a bit in the refrigerator. Hidden in the back.”

“Did you buy it for me?”

“For both of us. I didn’t drink hard for long, but even after all these years, the Christmas season makes me want a drink sometimes.”

He took another sip. “You’re right. Raven will be a wreck if I get drunk tonight.”

“You have to do it for yourself.”

“I know. But she helps. And so do you. That’s why I stayed here. If I’d gone back to Dad’s house, I knew I’d drink again. And my dealer lives up there.”

“You can do this,” Ellis said. “I know you can.”

He guzzled more of the kombucha. “Can I say something that’s totally out of character?”

“Sure.”

“I’m really glad you and my sister are in my life again.”

“Can I hug you while you’re out of character?”

“Okay. But hurry before the real me comes back.”

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Sixteen years since he’d let her. She was having a record day for kisses.

Jasper leaned his head out the front door. “Raven wants to say something to all of us.”

“Coming,” Ellis said.